S. China's Guangdong handles 217 outbound freight trains in Jan.- July

South China's Guangdong province saw departure of over 217 outbound freight trains in the direction of Central Europe, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia in the first seven months this year, a year-on-year increase of approximately 1.1 times, according to statistics from the Guangdong Customs.

Photo provided by Sinotrans Ltd. shows a freight train departing from Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, which is bound for Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, on May 25, 2021. (Xinhua)

As of the end of July, a daily average of one China-Europe freight train set out from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It is expected that the number of China-Europe freight trains departing from the area this year will exceed the previously estimated 340. Among the outbound trains, the value of goods transported to Europe was 6.72 billion yuan, accounting for about 97 percent of the total export value of Guangdong via China-Europe freight train service. 

China-Europe freight train service has become an important channel for transporting goods from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to the Eurasian continent, said Zhang Chao, relevant person in charge of Guangdong customs. 

Compared with air freight, China-Europe freight trains save nearly 50 percent of the cost, with shorter distance and faster speed, and it can ship stably during the epidemic, noted Zhang. 

Besides, since the beginning of this year, the customs has supported enterprises in applying bonded policies and processing trade policies to further promote the development of China-Europe Express train service.